LIVE ON EARTH!
Ecofeminism and Art: A Planetary Symposium
March 21st, 2025
WATCH LIVE HERE: https://artcenter.zoom.us/j/99871516261
LOS ANGELES - THE HAGUE - SEOUL
During 24 hours around the world
Alternative Space LOOP - Seoul, Korea : 12pm-8pm KST
WEST - The Hague, The Netherlands : 12pm-8pm CET
The BRICK/ArtCenter - Los Angeles, California : 11am-8pm PST
colectivo amasijo, the work cycle of the milpa, la milpa, la escuela, 2025
On the spring equinox, March 21, 2025, Live on Earth! Ecofeminism & Art: A Planetary Symposium will follow the sun around the globe, taking place virtually and in-person in Seoul, The Hague, and Los Angeles. Hosted by The Brick and ArtCenter College of Design, the Los Angeles program brings together artists, scholars and activists for engaging panel discussions, an interactive performance, a communal lunch and video screenings—all reflecting on ecofeminist histories and reimagining the role of art in ecological and feminist activism, now and into the future.
Free and open to all audiences, this one-day event will connect different localities contending with the contradictions and tensions between local experience and normative concepts, between local conditions and global climate models, between local advocacy and international solidarity. As climate crises and systemic inequalities intensify, LIVE ON EARTH! provides a vital space for interdisciplinary dialogue and creative action.
Following handovers from symposia in Seoul and The Hague, the L.A. event will commence with Silvia Federici in conversation via Zoom with collaborators, artist Ohan Breiding and curator Shoghig Halajian. Immediately afterward, a communal gathering led by Mexico City-based research collective colectivo amasijo, and presented with Active Cultures, will take place on the roof of ArtCenter’s South Building. The event will feature a circular procession and communal meal, connecting participants with traditional agricultural cycles and ecological knowledge through the performative ritual.
The afternoon continues with additional panels, presentations, a special screening, and a closing reception. Serving as the final 8-hour segment of the three-city event, the symposium at ArtCenter in Pasadena will be co-facilitated by Jane McFadden, art historian and ArtCenter Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Catherine Taft, Deputy Director of The Brick and ArtCenter faculty member and alumna.
This free event is open to the public, with limited in-person seating and streaming options available. Advance registration is required for the colectivo amasijo performance and communal meal, which requires a separate ticket.
WHEN:
Friday, March 21, 2025
11:00 AM – 7:00 PM PT
(Noon to 2:00 PM colectivo amasijo: a circular offering)
WHERE:
ArtCenter College of Design, 950 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA
WHO:
Confirmed speakers and participants include:
· Silvia Federici (scholar and activist)
· Ohan Briding (artist and researcher)
· Shoghig Halajian (curator and researcher)
· Diana Thater (artist and ArtCenter professor)
· Janet Sarbanes (author)
· Jane Chin Davidson (art historian)
· Martina Manterola & Carmen Serra (artist founders of colectivo amasijo)
· Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez (curator and cultural researcher)
· Maru Garcia (artist)
· Leslie Labowitz-Starus (artist & activist)
· Leah Thomas (eco-activist & author)
· yétundé ọlágbajú (artist and art worker)
· David Horvitz (artist)
TICKETS & STREAMING INFO:
Limited in-person attendance and streaming access available.
To RSVP, click here
Registration for the colectivo amasijo performance and lunch is required as a separate ticket from the conference. To RSVP, click here
PARTNER SYMPOSIA:
Alternative Space LOOP - Seoul, Korea : 12pm-8pm KST
With: Minja Gu with Lusi Sapitri, Hyunjoo Kim, Jason Kim, Hyunjung Lee, Mary Mellor, Ye-eun Min, and Natasha Tontey, and others
In most societies, cooking is regarded as women's labor, while only when male chefs cook in restaurants is it recognized as high culture. Minja Gu has developed projects that explore sociocultural aspects of food and cooking. The Ecofeminism Symposium at LOOP begins with Gu’s project In the Food for Love, a collaboration with marriage-immigrant Lusi Sapitri who prepares and shares Indonesian cuisine from her homeland.
The Ppaepeorl Project is a community art project centered on people who have served in brothels around Camp Stanley in Uijeongbu, an US military base established in 1952. It examines the relationships between institutionalized sex work related to US Army occupation, and the local residents who rely on this. Since the 2000s, with the downsizing of US troops in the area, the local economy has collapsed, leaving behind those who cannot afford to leave.
The symposium at LOOP brings together artists, activists, and researchers who have critically engaged with how female bodies, the exploitative structure of capitalism, and colonial histories intertwine to explore ecological alternatives. In this section of our 24-hour event connecting 3 locations across the planet, we discuss the experiences of women who are forced to migrate due to capitalism and the emotions they carry, centering the physical space of Korea.
Additionally, there will be presentations from participants of the Eco-Feminism Workshop, who will share research and reflections they have been developing since May on the structures and nature of the existing world, and new social possibilities.
Moderated by LOOP Director Ji Yoon Yang, this symposium will inaugurate the 24-hour cycle with a program of cooking, eating, talks, screenings and discussions.
West Den Haag - The Hague, The Netherlands : 12pm-8pm CET
With: Ursula Biemann, Isabel Cavalho, Chihiro Geuzebroek, Ruth Nyambura, Eliana N'Zualo/ Womin, Philsan Omar Osman, anna andrejew, Irene Jahn, Karolina Rupp, Veronica Perales, Katerina Sidorova, Müge Yilmaz, Yvette Teeuwen, MaYa and others
The rise of authoritarianism and the erosion of democracy in the imperialist core have fueled backlash against feminism and environmentalism, making it more urgent than ever to unite these movements. Ecofeminism emphasizes the interconnected exploitation of women and nature under capitalist patriarchy, which understands both as resources to be exploited for profit. Women, burdened with the physical and emotional labor of sustaining humanity, often bear the greatest suffering in times of crisis. Maria Mies tells us that men developed weapons first to subordinate women, it took orders of magnitude of violence to maintain patriarchy which continues to this day. Ecofeminists see this dual exploitation as part of a broader pattern of ecological destruction, emphasizing the need for global solidarity among women to dismantle these oppressive systems.
The symposium ‘Life On Earth!’ at West Den Haag brings together radical practitioners from diverse regions (20°W to 50°E) to explore the challenges facing ecofeminism today. Our presenters engage with the legacies of colonialism, migration and racism that transfuse eco-feminist concerns and action, with a particular focus on cultivating North-South solidarity. connecting artistic and activist approaches, traversing conventional disciplinary boundaries. Ruth Nyambura will join our symposium to give us a eco-socialist pan-african analysis of the challenges facing women organizers in several African countries. Philsan Omar Osman will hold an intensive workshop on anti-racist ecofeminism and Black geographies. Chihiro Guezebroek will give a transdisciplinary report on her work with indigenous women in South America.
Ecofeminism must balance local and universal approaches. While rooted in diverse lived experiences, it requires international solidarity to address global systemic issues. Local contributions include an ecofeminist council, on hand to raise questions, comment and spur discussions throughout the day, performances by Yvette Teeuwen and MaYa exploring embodied thinking and situated knowledge, panels, screenings, workshops and other activities to encourage exchange and support organization and solidarity. The program, convened and moderated by Baruch Gottlieb will consist of in-person and hybrid activities, some of which will be streamed and some which will be closed for registered participants only.
This symposium is co-organized by Jane McFadden, ArtCenter Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Catherine Taft, Deputy Director & Curator at The Brick on the occasion of the exhibition Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism.
Lead support for Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism was provided by Getty and PST ART: Art & Science Collide, with additional generous support by the Margaret Morgan and Wesley Phoa Fund, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Knox Foundation, the Hillenburg Family Foundation, Teiger Foundation, the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, and the Wilhelm Family Foundation. Special thanks to Art Center College of Design, Active Cultures, and Kameron McDowell of The Brick.